point of no return

noun

a line that when crossed permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment

• Syn: ↑Rubicon

• Hypernyms: ↑line, ↑dividing line, ↑demarcation, ↑contrast

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1. : the point in the flight of an aircraft beyond which the remaining fuel will be insufficient for a return to the starting point with the result that the craft must proceed

2. : a critical point (as in development or a course of action) at which turning back or reversal is not possible

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1. Aviation. the point in a flight at which an aircraft will lack sufficient fuel to return to its starting point.

2. the critical point in an undertaking, decision-making process, etc., where one has committed oneself irrevocably to a course of action or policy.

[1940-45]

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point of no return noun

That point on a flight from which one can only go on, for lack of fuel to return (also figurative)

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Main Entry: ↑point

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point of no return,

1. the point in the flight of an aircraft at which it is safer to proceed than to turn back: »

We also figure out the point of no return—the point beyond which we wouldn't have enough gas to turn around and get back (New Yorker).

2. Figurative. a point reached in a course beyond which it is no longer possible to reverse or turn back to an earlier condition: »

The majority of the children have passed the dreaded “point of no return,” in this case medical phraseology for a victim of malnutrition who has become so dehydrated that death is only a matter of time (New York Times).

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noun [singular]

: the time when it becomes no longer possible for you to make a different decision or to return to an earlier place or state

If you've signed the contract, you've already reached the point of no return.